Choices
As mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been on the hunt for a new company. This is the first time I can remember being completely transparent about my hunt. The norm has been closet phone calls and secret lunches so that the current employer doesn’t catch wind of my intentions. Now that I look back I am not sure why all the cloak and daggery. If you’re more open and honest of your intentions, perhaps a positive conversation would happen at your existing post and you could find a resolution without having to move? That might be a great topic for a future writing. In the current situation, thankfully, after many heartfelt conversations a mutual understanding was reached and we part on loving terms.
After what seems like an endless amount of lunches and phone calls I find myself at a crossroads. On one side is a fairly well established business that is virtually printing money. The offer in hand is extremely generous on most accounts. There has been some confusion around benefits, nothing that couldn’t be cleared up. The down side? The business is somewhat morally questionable. I think one of the greatest challenges of the next generation in America is how to deal with the ever growing divide in financial equality. This particular business, although not as bad as some, lives on the gray line of profiting from individuals who are not in the best place financially.
On the other hand is almost the complete inverse. A company with the objective of better financial clarity and responsibility. The offer from a cash perspective is definitively less rewarding, however it does include an equity component that is fairly generous. I know and respect several members of the team, I think they would be an enjoyable group to struggle with.
So here I stand, one path offering cash in hand, the other the dangling carrot of some future potential pay off. So I look inward. Should I just embrace that I am the guy that builds companies from nothing to something? Is that something I should just accept of myself and try to make the most of it? Just keep chasing that carrot cause it’s a good distraction from having to take a closer look at what’s really important? Do I try something different with the likely outcome that I won't even notice the difference in salary in six months because of the ever creeping tide of spending?
Even as I write this I think it helps me know which path to choose, perhaps it’s even evident in the tone and content of the writing itself. Just putting things down has a therapeutic element doesn’t it?
